


only if you're there

by Hellokaelyn



Category: NCIS
Genre: F/M, Post 16x18
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-11
Updated: 2019-06-11
Packaged: 2020-04-24 20:51:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19181152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hellokaelyn/pseuds/Hellokaelyn
Summary: Even the change in the way he slept made her heart ache.





	only if you're there

**Author's Note:**

> For the anon on Tumblr

It was quiet in her apartment, but maybe that was for the best. Ellie leaned against the wall leading to the hall, her eyes trained on the sleeping figure on her couch.   
  
Even the change in the way he slept made her heart ache.   
  
It had been four months since the whole mess with Nick being drugged and almost framed, but three months since they made up. They spent a whole month playing nice at work but the second it wasn't needed anymore, Nick would avoid her like the plague. It all changed when late at night he showed up at her door.  
  
Since then at least once a week Nick would fall asleep on her couch. Before everything it was a common thing when they stayed up late watching movies or TV, or when they just didn't want to be alone after a case and fell asleep. Nick would lay stretched out, no blanket in sight as he thought it felt constructing.   
  
Now since then he would just come to her apartment to sleep, no longer would he be stretched out across the couch but instead he would be curled up as much as he could, and now he always slept with a blanket clutching it as if it would protect him from anything.  
  
It reminded her a lot of how he acted when awake now too. Closed off (in a different way from when she first met him).   
  
She knew he liked to pretend none of it affected him, but she could see it easily and it hurt. He was still her Nick but there were pieces of him that were broken. Everyone just assumed because he had been undercover for so long that this wouldn't phase him, and it made her angry. Nick was human with emotions and feelings just like the rest of them, so why did it seem like she was the only one to notice other than Jack who she knew he still talked to?   
  
Nick suddenly stirred making her jump and run towards the kitchen where she pretended she hadn't been watching him for the past few minutes.   
  
"Ellie?" He sleepily mumbled. Her heart jumped at the way his voice sounded just waking up, she oddly liked hearing it even from the beginning.   
  
"Right here." She said loud enough for him to hear.  
  
Nick sat up, rubbing his eyes as he turned. "How long was I out?"  
  
"About three hours."   
  
He stood and walked over, leaning against the counter. "I'm sorry..for coming over here all the time to sleep."  
  
Ellie bit her lip. "Why? I mean- why do you need to?" She hesitantly asked.   
  
"Ever since.." He trailed off. Ellie put her hand on his arm letting him know she understood. "I haven't been able to sleep."  
  
"You sleep fine when you're here."   
  
"Because you're here." He mumbled. Ellie's mouth hung open a little. Her stomach doing somersaults. "I can't sleep unless I know you're there. It's weird I know-"  
  
Ellie made him cut off as she suddenly circled her arms around his waist. Nick made a small shocked noise in his throat before returning the hug.   
  
"Ellie?"   
  
"I wish you didn't need one..but I'm happy to be your safe place." She whispered.  
  
Nick took in a deep shuddering breath that she could feel, his arms tightening around her as he buried his face between her neck and shoulder.   
  
From then on, Nick spent almost every night at her apartment. Eventually without either of them realizing it, Nick had simply just moved in and never left. It took until he let it slip calling Ellie's apartment 'home' for them to notice. 

It was _their home_ , and she didn't mind one bit.


End file.
